US TV
The actor said he lived in a hotel throughout 2004 because he did not want to splash out on an LA home if the series failed to take off.
The 48-year-old went on to win two Golden Globes and several Emmy nominations for the hit FOX series, in which he plays grumpy medic Dr Gregory House.
He told The Sunday Times: "At the time, I blindly signed up thinking it wouldn't go anywhere. I don't know what the odds are [of a pilot becoming a long-running hit] - one in 100? One in 200?
"I didn't realise what I was getting myself into. The first year I was in a hotel. Everyone else in the show was signing leases on houses and I said, 'You're mad, we're only going to last a month.' I literally didn't unpack."
> Laurie: 'Britain slammed the door on me'
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2012-13 Season
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